The Maharashtra chief minister is worried that the state might lose the Jaitapur power project to other states if protests from various quarters against it continue.
Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan is worried that the state might lose the Jaitapur power project to other states if protests from various quarters against it continue.
An official from the chief minister’s office said several states are interested in nuclear power generation. “At least six such states are trying to lure the foreign collaborators away from the state,” he said. “They know several political parties in the state are opposed to the idea of having a nuclear power plant. So, they are trying to exploit the situation.”
He cited the example of the Tatas shifting their Nano project out of West Bengal to Gujarat following massive protests.
At present, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have entered into foreign collaborations for nuclear projects to improve their power generation capacities.
It is estimated that nuclear power will contribute to the generation of 40,000MW — almost one third of the country’s need by 2020.
The Democratic Front government is banking heavily on the project to meet the power shortfall in the state. Once commissioned, the plant will generate 9,900MW of electricity.
French company Areva will provide the nuclear reactors to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The first phase of generation is expected to start from 2018.
Political parties, mainly the Shiv Sena, have criticised the government’s land acquisition policy regarding the project. Increasing protests have forced the government to stop the process of acquiring 938 acres of land from 2,033 families for the project. Protests over acquiring agricultural land for industrial growth have hampered investments in the state previously too.
The Shiv Sena intensified its agitation against Jaitapur after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. “Initially, Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray was not against the project. He was unhappy about the compensation package,” said the CM. “But now they have hardened their stand. I think everyone should work together when it comes to the development of the state.”
The chief minister said his government would again look into the compensation package for project affected villagers. “We have already promised to give Rs10 lakh per acre for people’s land along with jobs to every individual from an affected family,” he said.
“Safety concerns are acceptable,” admitted Chavan, “but that does not mean we stall the project.” The chief minister said the project was one of the best options to meet power shortfall in the state. “I can assure everyone that nuclear power will be cheap and clean. All apprehensions raised by the opposition regarding threat to ecology are unfounded. Even we are concerned about the lives of people and the environment.”
An industry department official said several companies prefer neighbouring states for investments because of assured land at cheap rates. “It is sad that we cannot instill such confidence among investors,” he said. In the past 10 years, Maharashtra has lost up to Rs30,000 crore in investments because major projects across various sectors moved to other states. The main reason was administrative delay in land acquisition, officials said. “Of the total 141 special economic zones (SEZ), work has begun only in 63 SEZs,” he said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}